Sir Edmund Barton GCMG

Readers note: This is an excerpt from the 200 Treasures exhibition catalogue, developed in 2017. This content was written as a brief biography on why this person was included in the exhibition.

Australia’s first prime minister was born in Glebe, Sydney, in 1849. He was educated at Sydney schools, including Sydney Grammar, where he was school captain. He studied classics and law at the University of Sydney and was admitted to the Sydney Bar in 1871.

From 1876, Barton sought office in state politics, succeeding in 1879 when he was elected to the Legislative Assembly. He won the seat of East Sydney in 1882, and a year later became Speaker of the House. Barton’s political career in colonial NSW was dominated by the politics of Federation. Following Henry Parkes’s Tenterfield address of 1889, the machinations towards Federation commenced. Barton was a stoic supporter of the idea of an Australian nation, although he differed with Parkes on the details.

During the 1890s, Barton was a leading player in myriad political developments, representing the NSW colony in constitutional conventions and rallying popular support for the Federation cause.

When Parkes died in 1896, Barton assumed the leadership of Australian Federation. He was sworn in as Australia’s first prime minister in 1901, serving until 1903. During his short tenure, his government laid many legislative foundations for the new nation. These included the passing of the Pacific Island Labourers Bill; the Immigration Restriction Bill in 1901, which formed the basis of the ‘White Australia’ policy, and the Commonwealth Franchise Act in 1902, which enshrined women’s suffrage. His government also oversaw the end of the Boer War and numerous matters of state. Barton resigned from office to become a founding justice of Australia’s High Court. Sir Edmund (Toby) Barton GCMG occupied this position until his sudden death in 1920.